1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic analysis system which performs qualitative and quantitative analyses of a biological sample, such as blood, urine, etc. More particularly, the present invention relates to an automatic analysis system which is provided with a transfer system for transferring sample vessels to analysis system.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a remarkable increase in the use of automatic analyzers which automatically perform qualitative and quantitative analyses of a biological sample, such as blood, urine, etc., mainly in large hospitals and clinical inspection centers where it is necessary to process biological samples of a number of patients in a short time. Various types of automatic analyzers, i.e., large-, medium-, and small-sized automatic analyzers are under development in relation to the throughput. Particularly in the case of a certain large-sized analyzer which performs analysis of a number of samples, a sample vessel containing a biological sample is held in a holder, called sample rack, and then transferred to a plurality of analyzers through a transfer line (transfer system). When an inspection engineer inputs the sample rack into a sample rack input slot, the analyzer automatically performs processing up to output of analysis results.
In this case, the transfer line having a form of a belt conveyor transfers the sample rack inputted through the sample rack input slot, a bar code reader provided in the middle of the transfer line recognizes the rack type and sample, and then analysis is performed. As such an automatic analysis system, a system disclosed for example in JP-A-10-325839 is known.